The Big Mistake We Make About Depression

Alive with Steve Burns

Lemonada Media

Society & Culture

5.0 • 588 Ratings

🗓️ 18 March 2026

⏱️ 61 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Is depression actually increasing or are we misunderstanding what it really is? Steve Burns sits down with psychiatrist and bestselling author Dr. Jessi Gold to unpack why depression is often confused with everyday sadness, burnout, or stress. Is social media and modern life shaping the way we talk about mental health? Why do so many people seem “fine” while quietly struggling? And how is self-diagnosis changing the conversation? It’s a thoughtful, honest discussion about what depression actually looks like and why getting the definition right matters. --------------------------------------------------------------------- ** if you like this episode, then check out these ** Is There a Loneliness Epidemic https://youtu.be/V3_3xYpS108 Happiness https://youtu.be/onhtAqXVcHA --------------------------------------------------------------------- Exclusive Offers For Our Listeners: Visit childrenincorporated.org to choose a child to sponsor today. Go to zocdoc.com/alive to find and instantly book a doctor you love today. Text STEVE to 64000 to get a FREE pocket pivot and their 10-pattern sprayer with the purchase of ANY size Copper Head hose. Message and data rates may apply. Go to bioptimizers.com/alive and use my exclusive code ALIVE15 to get 15% off any order. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Alive with Steve Burns - Season One Episode 24 | Dr. Jessi Gold Instagram: @alivewithsteveburns TikTok: @alivewithsteveburns --------------------------------------------------------------------- There are a thousand podcasts you can listen to. This one listens back. Alive with Steve Burns continues the conversation you began all those years ago. Back then it was letters and numbers and graham crackers. Now it’s death, sex, taxes, and all the big, messy questions of being alive. Why does money stress us out? Is the American dream dead? What’s the future of truth? Each week, a new guest drops by Steve’s window for a genuine and respectful dialogue between two people just trying to figure it out, together. Funny, tender, and just a little weird, this show invites you to sit down and think with Steve once again and wonder… what it really means to be Alive. --------------------------------------------------------------------- You are not alone. You are cared for. If you need someone to listen: National Suicide and Crisis Hotline: https://988lifeline.org/ NAMI Helpline: https://www.nami.org/nami-helpline/ Crisis Text Line: https://www.crisistextline.org/ Keywords: Blues Clues, Steve burns, alive with steve burns, Steve burns podcast, depression, sadness, social media, dr. jessi gold, how do you feel, jessi gold, jessi gold author, blues clues, blues clues and you Watch full episodes of Alive on YouTube. Stay up to date with Lemonada on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at @LemonadaMedia. If you haven’t yet, now is a great time to subscribe to Lemonada Premium. You’ll get ad-free episodes and bonus content from Steve. Just hit the 'subscribe' button on Apple Podcasts, or, for all other podcast apps head to lemonadapremium.com to subscribe. Click this link for a list of current sponsors and discount codes for this show and all Lemonada shows: lemonadamedia.com/sponsors See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	I was diagnosed as having severe clinical depression at one point in my life and I learned
0:07.0	that that word does not mean what you think it means, Steve, you know, and it's. Welcome to Alive. You're just in time. For I have made tea.
0:33.6	Would you like some tea? Okay, me too. All right, here's a question for you today. Have you ever been
0:43.2	depressed? Yeah. Yeah, I mean, I think most people would answer that question with a...
1:04.0	Yeah, duh, right?
1:06.0	Here you go.
1:08.0	Because I think everyone gets sad from time to time.
1:12.1	But my question is, is sadness the same as depression?
1:16.2	Because I've been depressed.
1:19.5	I've talked a lot about that.
1:21.4	And it didn't always feel like sadness to me.
1:26.1	Anyway, I just had the most fascinating conversation with Dr. Jesse Gold about all the things that go in to depression.
1:37.4	Spoiler.
1:38.6	It's much more than sadness.
1:40.7	It was a fascinating conversation.
1:43.1	And I can't wait to hear what you think.
1:46.0	Cheers.
1:47.0	Okay, Dr. Jesse Gold is the first ever chief wellness officer of the University of Tennessee
1:55.0	System and also associate professor of psychiatry at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center.
2:01.5	She is a nationally recognized speaker.
2:03.5	She's literally been featured like literally everywhere.
2:07.0	And she's a writer.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Lemonada Media, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Lemonada Media and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.